Enantioselective Topological Frequency Conversion

2021/05/12 by Kai Schwennicke, Schwennicke, Kai, Joel Yuen-Zhou +1
Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Mechanical and Optical Resonators #Molecular spectroscopy and chirality #Quantum Physics (quant-ph)

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2105.05469

openalex publication_date 2021/05/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

Two molecules are enantiomers if they are non-superimposable mirror images of each other. Electric dipole-allowed cyclic transitions |1⟩→|2⟩→|3⟩→|1⟩ obey the symmetry relation O^R=-O^S, where O^R,S=(μ₂₁^R,SE₂₁)(μ₁₃^R,SE₁₃)(μ₃₂^R,SE₃₂), and R,S label the two enantiomers. Here we generalize the concept of topological frequency conversion to an ensemble of enantiomers. We show that, within a rotating-frame, the pumping power between fields of frequency ω₁ and ω₂ is sensitive to enantiomeric excess, P_2→1=ℏ\fracω₁ω₂C_L^R2π(N_R-N_S), where N_i is the number of enantiomers i and C_L^R is an enantiomer-dependent Chern number. Connections with chiroptical microwave spectroscopy are made. Our work provides an underexplored and fertile connection between topological physics and molecular chirality.

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